1. Technical Field
The field of invention relates generally to clamps. In particular, the invention relates to holding electrical components in thermal contact with a heat sink.
2. Related Art
Electrical components may be installed in many different configurations. An electrical component can be any now known or later discovered electrical device such as a transformer, an integrated circuit, a microchip, a semiconductor device, a central processing unit, a diode, a passive device, etc. Electrical components often generate heat. In some cases, if not effectively cooled, electrical components can overheat resulting in improper functioning of, damage to, or even destruction of the electrical components. Heat sinks may be used to cool electrical components to prevent overheating. A heat sink may be any heat-conducting material formed in a shape designed to draw heat away from a surface of the heat sink.
Configurations that include a heat sink may use surface mounted technology (SMT), where electrical components are mounted on the surface of a printed circuit board (PCB) that is interspersed between the electrical components and a heat sink. Other configurations may use lay down components, where electrical components pass through cutouts in the PCB so that the electrical components contact the heat sink. In still other configurations, lay down components are located close to the edge of the PCB so that the electrical components extend beyond the edge and contact the heat sink. Other example configurations use stand-up components where the heat sink may contact the electrical component on a side of the electrical component opposite of a side of the electrical component facing the PCB. In other configurations using stand-up components, the heat sink may contact a side of electrical component that is substantially perpendicular to the PCB, particularly if the electrical component is positioned near the edge of the PCB. It is understood that a given configuration may contain any combination or variation of the configurations described above.
In some configurations, clamping heat-generating electrical components against a surface of a heat sink—or against a surface in thermal contact with the heat sink—may increase the effectiveness of the heat sink. However, the characteristics of the given configuration may impose limitations on what apparatus may be used to clamp the heat-generating electrical components against the surface of a heat sink. For example, the limiting characteristics of a given configuration may include: the number of electrical components to be clamped, the amount of clamping force required for efficient heat transfer, the amount of force the electronic component is capable of sustaining and maintaining proper functionality (e.g., without the electronic component cracking or being crushed), the amount of space available for the clamping apparatus, the cost of manufacturing or installing the clamping apparatus, etc.